Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by Phelps:

2009 vintage, poured into a snifter. This baltic porter from Juneau is brewed with cherries, brown sugar, vanilla beans and oak chips — none of which sounds bad at all.

From afar, the deep burgundy liquid seems to pulse with darkness, yet a hold to the light reveals surprising clarity. Half a finger of big cocoa powder-colored bubbles crackle and pop, leaving just a thin ring.

Picture a large plate precariously balanced on a stick. On one en you have dark and maraschino cherry syrup; on another, buttery oak. French vanilla ice cream, cocoa nibs and high-proof brandy take up space on the other ends. The proportion of each is perfect, keeping the plate perfectly balanced. It doesn’t get better than this.

Sugary dark fruits, unmasked alcohol and vanilla combine to give the beer an almost bourbon-aged quality that I can definitely get behind. Brown sugar, milk chocolate and dark, sweet cherries are also in there, while a smooth smokiness permeates the background. The malts are just a little too this to support the adjuncts; if they were kicked up just a notch, I’d do the same for the flavor score.

The body is a silk blanket. Soft carbonation tingles the tongue inside the supple liquid while ethanol heat warms the nostrils and throat.

Alaskan’s Smoke Porter is good; their Baltic Porter is better. It’s a crying shame I’ve waited this long to try it — a mistake I intend to remedy by getting caught up with a second bottle forthwith.

First sip brings sweet dark malts with bold toffee and licorice upfront. Caramel accents with lots of cellar fruits moving in and out as well. Dense with malt and only a touch of hops on the way down with no real alcohol presence. A rich, tasty brew.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with good carbonation that goes down smooth and tasty. Thanks to warriorsoul for leaving this one behind for me after Dark Lord Day.

Pitch black color. Pours like motor oil in the glass so to get a goo head going on I have to have a fine splash down the middle of the glass which formed a latte like sticky head. Slight taffy aroma with a soft chocolate, faint ripe fig and mild char nose. Big lush creaminess cradles the delicate smoothness, amazingly smooth. Sweet dark and burnt sugar flavors to kick things off, a hint of brownie batter and dark fruit in the middle. The alcohol is a bit warm but does not play like it is 9.8% abv. The modest hopping really lets the maltiness shine here. Finishes sweet with a long linger of mellow roasted grain.

A big beer with modest complexities, they are there but just not in your face. The alcohol is somewhat hidden, hard to tell it is that strong. All around a solid beer.

22 oz Bomber.This was recommended by a beer geek that worked at Bev Mo to me.I have to say that I am going to start listening to those people a little more.This is the Best Porter I have ever tasted.Beautiful brown color in the 20 oz firestone glass.I was sitting in the house listening to The Who live at the isle of wight and I could not believe how good this was.I guess this is very hard to find the date was 2012 on the bottle.If you can still find this Please do.You will not be disappointed.This Porter Rocks.And so does The Who.Rock on with the good beers.Motley out.

Pours dark brown with a khaki head. The aroma caught me off guard. While I do get some cherry and vanilla, the main fruit flavor I get is bananas. Very strange. The flavor is very complex with cherry, vanilla, oak and roasted malts. The beer is pretty sweet and you get some alcohol but it is fairly well hidden. Mouthfeel is thinner than expected. Low carbonation.

Appearance: Pours very dark and black with only a little brown color showing. Moderate amount of bubbles and about one finger of tan head that fades into a small patch. Leaves a decent amount of lacing around the glass.

Smell: A dark and sweet aroma. Dark roasted malts with big hints of dark chocolate, toast, burnt caramel, toffee, coffee, and vanilla. Some scents of oak chips and banana. Also a good smell of dark fruits including cherries, plum, and fig. Anise spice and a little whiff of tobacco. Hop presence is pretty light. Sweetness is balanced. A pretty nice dark smelling porter.

Taste: Roasty and sweet like the aroma previews. Dark malts with a taste of dark chocolate, burnt caramel, toffee, dark bread, coffee, and vanilla. Oak chips and some anise spicing along with a touch of tobacco. Some banana taste and notes of dark fruits including dark cherries, plum, and fig. Tastes sweet but not cloying in any way. Not really any signs of smoke like a Baltic Porter typical has. Tastes good anyways.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Creamy, slick, and slightly syrupy. Feels a little too light for the style. Alcohol is hidden very well.

Overall: A pretty nice porter overall. Good fruit taste. Could of had more body and some smoke.

Pours dark brown, thin lacing, looks generous. Smell, whoooo alcoholic, for reals. So alcoholic you might think its aged in some grain alcohol barrels. But there's some other stuff in there. Wine like in its diversity of flavor.

A sipping beer, but you don't need a lot of time between intervals. While the alcohol is obviously there, for how high it is, it isn't overpowering. I would recommend.

Revisit 8/2011: Not as impressive as the first batch was. A little more bitterness than I like, needs an RIS body to absorb this. Mild licorice/dark fruit. Just not a style I dig so much on.

A: Pours a very deep brown, nearly opaque in the light. Moderate head on the pours with some retention and some lacing.

S: Lots of dark fruits and a good mellowed alcohol. Nice rich malts that aren't overly rich or sweet.

T/M: Nice full flavor malts but not too rich or cloying. Lots of chocolate and dark caramel. Very pleasant alcohol. Dark fruits and a richness that grows as it warms. Body is full and rich but not thick and cloying.

Alaskan Baltic porter pours a rich deep red brown. It's not overtly thick and let's plenty of light through on the sides but has a hard time making it all the way through the center. A tan head comes and goes quickly, quietly and disappointingly.

The nose is roasty and sweet with hints of stone fruits. Not a distinct malt scent but a mix of fruit, booze, brown sugar and caramel. The sugar is almost a candied smell that reminds me of Belgian quads.

Slick on the tongue and very reminiscent of the smell. The same dark fruit and brown sugar mixed with roasted, toast flavored malts. Cherries lead the way and are followed by a caramelized coating and finish.

Mildly carbonated with an oil like mouthfeel. Smooth and thick feeling as it coats your face hole. The feel is my favorite part of this brew. I find it to be weak for a porter and kind of confused with its identity. A good brew but too sweet for my taste. I'd rather a porter go more roasted grain then sugary.

If it's not black, it's the darkest possible shade of brown known to man. Toasted-brown head is modest and thins to a skim that hangs around for the duration.

Aroma is rich and roasty, bursting with anise, dark fudge, fresh-cut oak, marshmallow, smoke and molasses. Fresh cream sweetness comes in too, as does a warming glow from the alcohol.

Wow, the flavor is big. And decadent. Big bursts of black licorice, caramel, chocolate cake batter and blackstrap molasses cover the dark sweet angle, while the zing of new wood, gingerbread, alcohol and vanilla lend some balance.

The gooey, syrup-like flavor is appropriately round and hefty, although perhaps just a tad too carbonated for my liking. Still can't call it anything less than good in the texture dept.

Delicious--and very, very dessert-y. Another winner from this great brewery. Many thanks to msubulldog25 for the chance to try it.

Good to see this one coming around in bottles (just wish they would do it with the coffee brown already. Or make an imperial stout, or put that smoked porter in some barrels already, or...)

Pours a deep dark black, but there are some very ruby hues when held up to a light. Head is nice and fluffy, light tan color, and lingers fairly well. Doesnt leave very impressive lacing, but some is there.

Nose is a bit weak for my taste. An odd metallic flavor mixed amongst dark malts, some chocolate, a slight touch of coffee way in the back there. A little bit of vanilla and some kind of dark fruit.

Hmmm. Taste is pretty complex. It doesnt quite hit you right up front, but it gets more complex as it rolls on. First some dark malt hits, but is quickly joined by a bit of vanilla flavor. Some oak is here, a bit of chocolate. Coffee i got in the nose was probably just from some darker malts, maybe chocolate malt or black pat or something. An odd metallic flavor through the middle. There is a wierd dark fruit aroma i cant quite put my finger on that i did not get in the on tap version. A stronger cherry presence I think. Cherry is certainly not a dominant characteristic, but it is there. There is some oak flavor in here towards the finish as the alcohol starts to make its presence known, although nowhere near what one would expect. Finish is fairly dry, and chocolate and oak linger on the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel is good, but slightly thin for the style. With an abv pushing 10 i would like just a touch more viscosity in here. Carbonation is right where it should be, maybe a tiny touch strong, but nothing significant.

Drinkability is pretty decent for the style, and quite good for the abv. This one drinks like its 6 or 7%. I could take down a couple of these, but after that i would probably switch to something lighter.

Overall a very decent and respectable offering from Alaskan. Nothing to write home about, this is no olfabrikken or smuttynose, but it is a very decent baltic. A few kinks could be adjusted, maybe a bit more roastiness, but other than those few small things, this is a good baltic. Will be throwing a few of these in the cellar to see how they do. I think it has the potential to cellar for a few years at least. Another good one from Alaskan, not quite up to the smoked porter or barleywines grade, but still a good beer.

Derek's bottle. A porter with a cherry first and then chocolate characteristic. The aroma of the real thing, happy valentine's Day chocolate and cherries. Black with a white foam, and above-average mouthfeel. A strong note of vanilla.OK take the bottle, enjoy the taste. Not sweet, bit certainly not too baltic sour.

On a surprisingly cool and rainy night in August, I decided to switch it up from the wheat beers and pilsners that have become my usual fare this summer. Poured from the 22oz bottle into a pint glass. Body is a deep dark brown, rich and full but still letting a little bit of light shine through. A khaki-brown, creamy head flourishes for a couple of minutes before subsiding to a thin coating. Aroma of sweet caramel malt with just a touch of roastiness. A plethora of sweet notes poking through - maple, mocha, and vanilla bean are all present, with a strong underlying boozy character. Palate is sweet up front, with caramel and maple flavors taking center stage. Dark fruit and mocha notes also make their presence known. A husky bitterness comes through before the swallow, balancing things out a bit for the smooth, warm finish. Body is fairly thick, with a bit of an oily slickness to it. This beer is rich throughout, living up to its high ABV. While maybe not the most authentic baltic porter on the market, this is definitely an enjoyable beer, and a definite change of pace for summertime drinking.

first sniff brings dark candied cherries and strong oak. this is followed by a subtle vanilla and molasses. very rich and sweet with a faint hint of booze.

light cherries blend well with the oak and vanilla. lots of complexity and lots of flavor. light hints of cocoa and molasses hide behind the bigger cherry. not as rich as the scent but this is for sure a sweet porter indeed. very very faint booze in the finish.

very chewy and thick. light to moderate carbonation. very full.

given how rich this is and the almost 10% ABV, only one at a time however i would for sure drink this again. i forget who sent this to me although i am pretty sure i know who did. i did indeed enjoy this. i love baltic porters.

Pours pretty much pitch black with a huge tan head that lasts. Has some viscosity to it.

The aroma is very rich. Chocolate, coffee, roasted malts, and dark fruit jump out at you. It’s not extremely balanced, but I like it.

The flavor is a mishmash of all kinds of intense aspects. It’s tasty, but sort of lacks an identity. Did they actually add cherries and vanilla beans to this brew? I definitely do get those flavors, along with your typical roasted malt, coffee, and dark chocolate. Slight anise.

Very full-bodied and slick on the palate. Really an intense mouthfeel, perhaps a little too much so.

This is good, but the drinkability on this one is just not there. This beer really wears your palate out in a hurry.